Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to goggles, and more particularly to a squeegee device for wiping moisture from the goggles while the user is wearing the goggles.
Description of the Related Art
The prior art teaches a wide range of devices for wiping and cleaning goggles, such as while skiing, snowboarding, riding motorcycles and snow machines, or engaged in similar outdoor activities. In one example, Doyle, U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,128, teaches a squeegee that is operably attached to a cord that may be worn around the neck in the form of a necklace. While the squeegee is useful for cleaning goggles, the attachment strap used is not well suited for use while engaged in outdoor physical activities, since the squeegee may be difficult to locate and grasp while engaged in the activity, especially if wearing gloves. Furthermore, the necklace cord upon which it is attached may pose a safety danger if it snags on surrounding objects (e.g., a ski lift, trees, etc.).
The prior art also teaches various devices for cleaning other forms of eyewear, including a wide range of cloths and similar products for wiping moisture, dirt, and other matter from the eyewear. Oberman, U.S. Pat . No. 6,881,273, for example, teaches an eyewear cleaning device that includes a housing, a retractable cord, and a soft, nonabrasive cloth mounted on the cord for cleaning eyewear lenses. The housing is mounted on a wall or similar structure, and may further include a cleaning fluid dispenser. The device can be attached to clothing or related items (e.g., a backpack) with a variety of hooks or clips, or the device may be attached to a support structure (e.g., a wall) with an adhesive or similar attachment means.
Thayer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,209, teaches an eyewear cleaning apparatus which utilizes a flexible retaining band that has ends which engage and retain eyewear such as eyeglasses, sunglasses, goggles and the like to allow the eyewear to be carried about the neck of the user. A selectively closeable compartment is positioned on the band intermediate the ends and contains a specialized lens cleaning cloth which is moveable between an extended cleaning position confronting the lenses of the eyewear and a rolled or folded storage position within the compartment where the cloth can be effectively carried, stored and protected from contamination yet always be available for lens cleaning when needed. When in the stored position, the cloth is substantially undetectable to the casual eye, and the band retains its aesthetically attractive appearance.
While the prior art teaches a wide variety of eyewear cleaning devices, the prior art does not teach ski goggles that include a retraction mechanism integrally mounted on the ski goggles, and a squeegee that is attached to the retraction mechanism via a cord that enables the squeegee to be retracted in a manner that does not interfere with the user's activities. The prior art also does not teach a cleaning device that is adapted to be used while the user is actively engaged in an athletic activity. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.